Historical Society requests help identify photos
Published Wednesday, January 11, 2023 at 5:51 PM
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The Butler County Historical Genealogical Society is seeking community assistance in identifying individuals in donated historical photographs.
Association member Judy Taylor said: “We hope that people will come and help us identify them.
The association works to preserve the history of the people of Butler County, collecting donated books, photographs, and other items that capture moments in the county’s history.
Association member Deborah Salter scans donated photos and documents for digital access. She said the society has many photographs in which no individual has been identified, and that the society welcomes any local residents who may be able to help identify the person in the photograph.
“We have pictures that were inside defender of greenville “I can’t identify some of them at once,” Salter said.
Volunteers from the Historical Society help patrons visit the Greenville-Butler County Public Library to research their ancestry, Salter said. Identifying people in photographs helps society document and file information useful for research.
“With the history room, we want to be able to identify the photos, so if people come looking for a particular family, they can show them the photos and tell them their family history,” Salter said. “I also have newspaper clippings and her folder of files for each surname.”
Visitors can explore files, view census records and maps, and check marriage records to discover family history. Salter says the Society also has historical information about the church.
“[Visitors] You can look up the family, but make copies of whatever you find and don’t take the material out of the library,” Salter said.
Salter said the association can scan photographs, slides and negatives. If researchers wish to keep the original without donating it to the Society, Salter can scan it to obtain the Society’s records and also improve the quality of damaged or degraded images.
“You can scan photos and put them in family files,” Salter says. “If the photo is damaged, we can fix some of it, depending on the damage.”
Local residents can access historical information during normal library hours, Salter said. To access digital information, researchers must visit on Tuesdays or Fridays when the association’s volunteers are present. Visitors are advised to stop by on Friday mornings to view the photos.
Anyone interested can join the community for $25. To become a member, visit Sweetheart Alabama or stop by the library on Tuesdays or Fridays.
For more information, email bchsgnvl@gmail.com or contact the association facebook page.